For the longest time, it appeared as though T-Mobile could do no wrong in the eyes of its subscribers and those of cellular industry rivals fed up with traditional carrier antics and convinced to move to the fast-growing underdog by grandiose “Un-carrier” pronouncements.
However, after combining with Sprint, overtaking AT&T in terms of the user base, and gaining the early statewide 5G lead in terms of both speed and service availability, T-Mo is veering away from the underdog road… for better or worse.
While we understand if you appreciate the operator’s top executives’ more professional public communication tone in recent years in comparison to the belligerent John Legere era, it’s difficult not to view the latest feature revision, first reported on Reddit and later confirmed on the official T-Mobile Support webpages, as another sign of declining customer service.
At first look, you may not notice anything wrong with or believe that the recent “updates to JUMP! upgrades” are a huge concern for many people, but a sizable portion of Redditors is upset with what’s coming in the autumn.
Beginning October 6, 2022, T-Mobile customers who have not yet abandoned the long-defunct JUMP! 1.0 program will be upgraded to the 2.0 version, which promises more “upgrade flexibility.”
Naturally, not everyone agrees with that evaluation, citing a fundamental need for the current smartphone upgrade plan as a significant disadvantage compared to the previous version published in 2014.
In a nutshell, JUMP! 1.0 users are still permitted to upgrade their devices up to twice a year without meeting any special conditions, whereas the JUMP! 2.0 program eliminates the limitation on the number of “jumps” permitted every 12 months… as long as each upgrade occurs after paying off at least 50% of your current phone balance.
Must read: The United States Is Facing an Unimaginable Recession
You gain some “flexibility” but lose some cost, which is not a good proposition for many people.
For the record, T-Mobile has indicated that it will allow “at least” one additional upgrade before October 6, even if you are on JUMP! 1.0, and you’ve already completed two leaps within the last year, with the grandfathered software due to vanishing entirely.
Apart from the actual shift, some T-Mo users are miffed that the “Un-carrier” has committed to maintaining or improving all of its plans for at least five years following its Sprint mega-merger.
However, as The T-Mo Report points out, this is technically a feature or an add-on, not a base service plan, and hence may be excluded from that guarantee. Overall, this feels like a classic carrier maneuver on various levels.
